Should we continue letting the “ludicrously dishonest” (well stated Avik Roy) presumptions of the ACA shape the future of our healthcare delivery system?

I think not.

Prior to the ACA, 6 states (Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington) required guaranteed issue individual plans. In 2010 these states had some of the highest individual insurance rates in the country:

There were another 35 states that offered guaranteed issue high risk pools:

That means 41 states already had access to guaranteed issue individual health insurance plans prior to the ACA.

Here’s another point… around my part of the country (KS / MO) the guaranteed issue plans available prior to the ACA were less expensive than the non-subsidized 2017 individual plans!

ACA proponents are quick to point out that there are more people insured now than prior to the ACA. What they fail to mention is that most of those gains are from new Medicaid enrollments (15 million) vs. state or federal Marketplaces (11 million):

Include Price Transparency legislation letting patients know up front what tests and procedures will cost

And since health insurance does not equal health care, there needs to be fundamental changes to physician access:

Direct Primary Care’s (DPC) monthly membership fees should be allowed as an eligible HSA / FSA / HRA expense (are you surprised I made it this far before mentioning HSA?)

States should be given block grants to explore more effective health care delivery systems (i.e. HSA & DPC) for Medicaid, Medicare, and VA

Allowing healthy Americans to purchase underwritten health insurance plans at substantially lower rates has been called discrimination by some. That is true. Insurance companies discriminate.

What would happen to auto insurance rates if everyone paid the same regardless of driving records or previous accidents? Most would pay substantially higher, some would pay less.

What would happen to life insurance rates if everyone paid the same regardless of weight / tobacco use / health issues? Most would pay more, some would pay less.

Providing access to high risk individual insurance plans for the few that need it while allowing healthy individuals to purchase lower cost underwritten plans would make individual health insurance affordable again.

Here is proof that Obama has heard the truth about the right way to reform healthcare:

Dr. Carson’s low income / Medicaid proposal:
“Instead of sending it [big pot of government money] to some bureaucracy, let’s put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own healthcare. And what are they going to do? They are going to learn very quickly how to be responsible.”

The real question is what was so important that Obama needed to be texting during Dr. Carson’s excellent HSA explanation?

Here are a few of my initial guesses:
– This just ruined breakfast. What’s for lunch?
– Need a distraction NOW… How about a round of golf with Tiger?
– I hope this guy doesn’t run for president
– Who scheduled this guy?
– FIRE HIM!

There are several exciting things about Consumer Driven Health Care plans that are proving to reduce costs. One of the best things is pricing transparency.

HSA consumers here in the Kansas City area (and nationwide beginning in October with over 1500 new blood draw locations) have access to special pricing for lab work. Show them your HSA debit card and you can save 10% off your already discounted lab tests!

For those of you that are captivated by the eloquent speeches out of Washington telling us the primary reason for healthcare reform is to cover the millions of uninsured in America, listen up! …

Washington is treating healthcare as if it’s a right. Just when did the historical revisionists rewrite the Declaration of Independence to say, “The Right to Life, Liberty, and Health Insurance”?

I agree we have a problem with our healthcare system in America. It is WAY too expensive. I have said many times I am an insurance agent that doesn’t like insurance.

Co-pay based healthcare plans are doomed to failure by design. When you incentivize people to spend money, don’t act so surprised when they overspend! The way to change utilization is to give every American a vested interest in NOT spending their healthcare dollars. Every time I pull out my Health Savings Account debit card, I’m spending MY MONEY!

Where is personal responsibility in this conversation? How many uninsured people are actually spending more money on cell phones, cable tv, alcohol, tobacco, eating out, movies, and other entertainment than what an HSA qualified health insurance plan would cost? You might be surprised at how affordable these plans can be. Go to www.myHSAguy.com and see for yourself. You do need to be healthy enough to qualify, but most states have guaranteed issue plans available that will cover any health condition. So why doesn’t Washington put a few more dollars into these state plans and make them more affordable?

Why does the most prosperous country in history seem to have a problem covering nearly 50 million citizens with health insurance? Other countries are spending much less than we spend, yet they cover all their citizens. Maybe we should switch to a government ran system like so many other countries. They seem to have better medical outcomes at a lower cost.

According to everything we hear today, the best solution is being worked on in Washington this past week… socialized medicine.

Today we are going to discuss the millions of uninsured Americans. Do we truly have a health care access problem, or is it a priority problem?

Stuart Browning of www.freemarketcure.com has a series of thought provoking videos that seem to reject the Washington wisdom we are being force fed today:

It’s sad that 17 million Americans that are making over $50,000 per year CHOOSE not to purchase health insurance. 18 million “young invincibles” CHOOSE to spend over 4 times as much on alcohol, tobacco, entertainment, and dining out as they spend on health care. Sounds like a priority problem to me!

If Americans knew about the lower cost health insurance plans that cover major medical expenses such as the Health Savings Account (HSA) qualified plans we recommend, they would no longer be uninsured. They would also be eligible for the PPO network discounts for services they receive even before they meet their deductible. Statistics have shown that over 30% of the individuals covered by HSA qualified plans were previously uninsured.

Since so many people are uninsured and are receiving “charity care” it artificially increases the cost of health care.

Obviously Washington is going to attempt to correct this issue. What if they were to require Americans to purchase a basic level of health insurance? How about helping states fund their guaranteed issue plans to make them more affordable and offer better benefits? Then the amount of “charity care” would be reduced tremendously and we could actually see cost reductions for health care. Many of these initiatives were outlined recently by Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute:

What Is An HSA?

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-deductible account to which you can contribute to save for future medical expenses or to pay for any day-to-day, qualified medical expenses permitted under federal tax law...[More]

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